Added: 02/28/2006 |
A Travelers Guide for South Africa Climate.South Africa is one of the most diverse and stunning countries in the Africa continent as well as in the world. Visitors and tourists flock to South Africa for its natural beauty, wildlife, sunshine and of course the opportunity to visit extremely popular safari. South Africa's extremely varied territory that holds a rich diversity of animals, birds, and plant-life and offers an incomparable and peerless range of impressions and experiences. The only thing that is out of control is climate and weather conditions. Whether you're in South Africa on safari or to enjoy the beaches, breathtaking drives, or unspoiled wilderness, you still depend on the South Africa climate.
South Africa stretches between the 22nd and 34th degrees of southern latitude and therefore is part of the subtropical zone. South Africa climatic conditions are generally varied from Mediterranean in the south-western corner of the country to temperate in the internal plateau, and subtropical in the northeast. A small area in the northwest has a desert climate. South Africa climate is generally sunny and pleasant. Winters are usually mild. Although snow falls on the mountain ranges of the Cape and Natal and occasionally in lower-lying areas, most of the country has warm, sunny days and cool nights.
Variations in elevation and territory affect South Africa weather conditions more than latitude. South Africa climate is also greatly influenced by two ocean currents that determine such difference in climatic conditions of South Africa. These two currents are the warm Agulhas ocean current, which sweeps southward along the Indian Ocean coastline in the east for several months of the year, and the cold Benguela current, which sweeps northward along the Atlantic Ocean coastline in the west.
A striking example of this influence can be seen on examination of air temperatures in Durban: on the Indian Ocean average air temperature is almost 6 degrees warmer than temperatures at the same latitude on the Atlantic Ocean coast. The effects of these two currents can be seen even at the narrow peninsula of the Cape of Good Hope, where water temperatures average 4 degrees higher on the east side than on the west. So in the coastal regions South Africa climate is the warmest. Such precipitation is expected mainly in the summer months, with the exception of the Western Cape which is a winter-rain area.
Maximum temperatures often exceed 32C in the summer, and reach 38 Celsius in some areas of the far north. The country's highest recorded temperatures, close to 48 Celsius, have occurred in both the Northern Cape and Mpumalanga. Frost occurs in high altitudes during the winter months. The coldest temperatures have been recorded about 250 kilometers northeast of Cape Town, where the average annual minimum temperature is -6.1 C. Record snowfalls (almost fifty centimeters) occurred in July 1994 in mountainous areas bordering Lesotho.
Temperature diversity is supplemented with atmospheric precipitation. Rainfall varies greatly from west to east. In the northwest, annual rainfall often remains below 200 millimeters, while in the eastern High Veld it averages from 500 millimeters to 900 millimeters of rainfall per year. In the centre of the country an average coefficient of rainfall is about 400 millimeters, and there are wide variations closer to the coast.
As you see the weather conditions differ considerably from west to east so be ready to the extremely fast changes in climatic conditions when traveling through the South Africa. Of course this difference isn't so essential, but being on the safe side is a good habit to be practiced by every traveler and visitor.
Have a safe trip and don't forget to write!
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